October 2013 | view this story as a .pdf

THE MAINE 100

Financially, we navigate by new stars now.

Commentary by Evan Livada

Data provided by Hoover’s/Dunn & Bradstreet

We asked Evan Livada of Livada Securities if Oakhurst Dairy, sold last year to Dairy Farmers of America in Kansas City, will have to change its motto to ‘The Natural Goodness of Missouri’ now that the former Portland-headquartered firm, run by the Bennett family since 1921, is, well, from Missouri. [One year, the late Stan Bennett was waiting in our lobby at daybreak: “Tell me! Where did Oakhurst come out in The Maine 100?”]

“I doubt it. They like the Maine monicker, so I imagine they’ll market it the same way in New England, at least.”

Dairy Farms of America topped $12B in annual revenues in 2012; Oakhurst was just under $100M (CY 2012) before being sold on January 31, 2014.

“But a lot of family firms in Maine continue to put out great products. Take Dennis Beverage and Nappi Distributors. Dennis Beverage is a longtime family owned business that just keeps on growing. Started by five Russian immigrants as Washington County Bottling Works in 1906, they first hit the Maine market delivering by horse and carriage. In the 1940s, they developed their own brand of soft drinks.”

To solidify that, “they were distributors for Hyers Root Beer and Nesbitt’s orange drink from Los Angeles. Remember Nesbitt?

Was that before or after Bubble-Up?

“In the 1950s, they started delivering malt beverages just as everyone started drinking beer in the postwar years. They moved from Ellsworth to Veazie and now to Bangor, where they have a sparkling 55,000-square-foot facility.

“Along the same lines, you have Nappi, distributing beer and wine since 1933. They’re in their third generation. In 2007, they built a new plant in Gorham, 155,000 square feet. That’s a lot of beer and wine.

“For craft beers, Shipyard is creating brew pubs across the country. Then there’s  Allagash. All sorts of craft beers seem to be thriving. They charge a lot for their craft beers. Restaurateurs aren’t all that thrilled about this, because the margins are low for the restaurants.

“L.L. Bean posted their fourth year in a row of greater revenues. Employees get an 8 percent bonus. The company plans to invest $100M to expand their online and retail business. They’re projecting growth of 11 to 14 percent next year. They expect capital expenditures of $80M.”

A darling of the Maine 100, “WEX is up 13.5 percent this year in a market that has gone up maybe 5 percent. The stock’s gone from $70 to $120 a share. They now operate in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In June, they bought a $532M health care payment company.

“In 2008, the trio of Priceline, Orbitz, and Expedia was 7 percent of WEX’s business; now it’s 25 percent.

“At No. 9, Greenpages, based in Kittery, a cloud-based consulting and integration firm, was $30 million in 2010. It’s $130 million this year.

Though it’s a nonprofit and not listed on the Maine 100, “CIEE, Inc. [$128M] has a very cool building in the Old Port. They have programs for exchange students, businesses, teachers, international seminars. They have a real good niche.

“Ingredients Solutions, started in 1992 in Waldo, has $50M in sales. Where’s Waldo!? They’re the world’s largest independent distributor of carrageenan, which is seaweed. They’re huge into dairy, meat sausages, pet food, toothpaste. They use it in ice cream and frozen desserts to keep it from separating.”

North of Waterville is Pride Manufacturing Co. in Burnham. “They’re the world’s largest maker of wooden golf tees. In 2005, they produced two billion golf tees a year. This year they made national news–I remember the feature on NBC–when they landed the contract from Hatfield, Pennsylvania’s K’NEX to manufacture Lincoln Logs. Remember Lincoln Logs?”

Kids…played with them while drinking Nesbitt?

“Invented in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, Lincoln Logs are enjoying a huge resurgence post-Starbucks. Before the new contract, Pride had 130 employees. Now they’re adding 10 more jobs. Very cool.”

 

The Maine 100

 

1. L.L. BEAN, Freeport, $1.56B

2. IDEXX LABORATORIES, INC., Westbrook, $1.377B

3. WEX INC.,
South Portland, $717.463M

4. The Cianbro Companies, Pittsfield, $169.5M

5. OLYMPIA SPORT CENTER, INC., Westbrook, $157.6M

6. BANGOR SAVINGS BANK, Bangor, $144.868M

7. BOWDOIN COLLEGE,
Brunswick, $140.062M

8. THE JACKSON LABORATORY, Bar Harbor, $134.4M

9. GREENPAGES, INC.,
Kittery, $130M

10. MAINE EMPLOYERS’
MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY, Portland, $129.123M

11. COLBY COLLEGE,
Waterville, $121.094M

12. WOODARD & CURRAN, INC., Portland, $120M

(TIE) W. D. MATTHEWS MACHINERY CO., Auburn, $120M

14. CAMDEN NATIONAL
CORPORATION,
Camden, $116.018M

15. AUSTIN JACK DE COSTER, Turner, $114M

16. BATES COLLEGE,
Lewiston, $98.8M

17. TWIN RIVERS PAPER COMPANY LLC,
Madawaska, $90M

18. FABIAN Oil INC.,
Oakland, $87.268M

19. THE GAGE COMPANY,
Portland, $86.4M

20. HUTCHINS MOTORS INC.,
Augusta, $84.3M

21. HANCOCK LUMBER COMPANY, INC., Casco, $76.5M

22. EVERETT J. PRESCOTT, INC.,
Gardiner, $67.1M

23. THE FIRST BANCORP INC.,
Damariscotta, $62.023M

24. TEX-TECH INDUSTRIES,
Portland, $61.54M

25. BUTLER BROTHERS SUPPLY DIVISION, Lewiston, $59.735M

26. BAR HARBOR BANKSHARES,
Bar Harbor, $58.315M

27. MACIHIAS SAVINGS BANK,
Machias $57.9M

28. LINCOLN PAPER & TISSUE, LLC, Lincoln, $56.2M

29. HUSSON UNIVERSITY, Bangor, $50.872M

30. INGREDIENTS SOLUTIONS, INC.,
Waldo, $50M

(TIE) PATRIOT MORTGAGE, LLC,
Windham, $50M

32. MARDEN’S INC., Waterville, $49.8M

33. HAMMOND LUMBER COMPANY,
Belgrade, $49.4M

34. DYSART’S SERVICE, Hermon, $48.9M

35. SOUTHWORTH INTERNATIONAL GROUP, Inc., Falmouth, $46.1M

36. KENNEBUNK Savings Bank,
Kennebunk, $45.728M

37. HARDWOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY LP, Guilford, $45.521M

38. STONEWALL KITCHEN, LLC,
York, $45.3M

39. NORTHEAST Bancorp,
Lewiston, $43.24M

40. NORWAY BANCORP, Mhc,
Norway, $42.5M

41. JOHN LUCAS TREE EXPERT CO.,
Falmouth, $42.012M

42. JOHNSON & JORDAN, Inc.,
Scarborough, $41.86M

43. SACO AUTO HOLDINGS, LLC,
Saco, $41.8M

44. DAIGLE OIL CO., Fort Kent, $41.2M

45. ELMET HOLDINGS, LLC,
Lewiston, $40.7M

46. BANCROFT CONTRACTING CORP., South Paris, $39.091M

47. JOHNNY’S SELECTED SEEDS,
Winslow, $38.9M

48. REED & REED, INC., Woolwich, $37.6M

49. DENNIS BEVERAGE CO.,
Bangor, $37.5M

50. NAPPI DISTRIBUTORS,
Gorham, $37.3M

51. SACO and BIDDEFORD SAVINGS,
Institution, Saco, $37.267M

52. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, INC, South Portland, $37.103M

53. GORHAM SAVINGS BANK,
Gorham, $37.038M

54. KENNEBEC SAVINGS BANK,
Augusta, $36.575M

55. RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC., South Portland, $36.5M

56. MOOSE RIVER LUMBER Co., Inc., Moose River, $35.541M

57. R. H. RENY, INC., Newcastle, $35.3M

58. The VIA GROUP LLC, Portland, $35M

59. SHAW BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION, INC., Gorham, $35M

(TIE) PATRIOT MUTUAL INSURANCE
Company, Brunswick, $35M

60. SARGENT Co., Stillwater, $34.2M

61. MAINE OXY-ACETYLENE SUPPLY COMPANY, Auburn, $33.5M

62. MELTON SALES  & SERVICE INC.,
Milford, $33.4M

63. MAINETODAY MEDIA, INC.,
Portland, $32.6M

64. ANDROSCOGGIN BANCORP MHC,
Lewiston, $32.1M

65. WADLEIGH’S, Inc., Hallowell, $31.9M

66. BERRY, DUNN, MCNEIL & PARKER, LLC, Portland, $31.4M

67. BATH SAVINGS INSTITUTION,
Bath, $30.163M

68. PM CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.,
Saco, $29.994M

69. KATAHDIN TRUST CO.,
Patten, $29.911M

70. PENOBSCOT MCCRUM LLC,
Belfast, $29.4M

71. HARRIMAN ASSOCIATES, Auburn, $29.3M

72. PIERCE ATWOOD, LLP, Portland, $29.3M

73. SIGCO, Inc., Westbrook, $29.153M

74. SULLIVAN AND MERRITT CONSTRUCTORS, INC., Hermon, $29M

75. PARIS FARMERS’ UNION,
Oxford, $28.395M

76. BANK OF MAINE, Gardiner, $28.166M

77. VISION DIRECT, LLC, Portland, $28M

78. JOHN F. MURPHY HOMES, INC.,
Auburn, $27.876M

79. PRIDE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LLC, Burnham, $27.6M

80. RED SHIELD ENVIRONMENTAL LLC,
Old Town, $26.8M

81. THE BAKER COMPANY INC.,
Sanford, $26.5M

82. KRIS WAY TRUCK LEASING, INC.,
South Portland, $25.3M

83. COUNTY SUPER SPUDS, INC.,
Mars Hill, $25M

84. MARITIME ENERGY, Rockland, $24.6M

85. OXFORD COUNTY TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO., Lewiston, $24.2M

86. KBS BUILDING SYSTEMS, INC.,
South Paris, $23.9M

87. WRIGHT-PIERCE, Topsham, $23.7M

88. MAINE DRILLING AND BLASTIN, INC., Gardiner, $23.4M

89. PAUL G. WHITE TILE CO., INC.,
Portland, $23.322M

90. MILLER INDUSTRIES, INC.,
Lisbon Falls, $23M

(TIE) THE WOLFINGTON GROUP, INC.,
Hallowell, $23M

92. ROUSSEAU ENTERPRISES INC.,
Brunswick, $22.5M

93. LABREE’S, INC., Old Town, $22.3M

94. NORTHEAST AIR, Portland, $22.2M

95. SURE WINNER FOODS, INC.,
Saco, $22.1M

96. SANFORD INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS, Sanford, $21.965M

97. JSI STORE FIXTURES, INC., Milo, $21.8M

(Tie) APPLICATORS SALES & SERVICE, INC., Portland, $21.8M

99. HUSSEY CORPORATION,
North Berwick, $21.7M

(TIE) CCB, INC., Westbrook, $21.7M

(TIE) EXCEL HOMES OF MAINE,
Oxford, $21.7M